La Terrazza

Double date night with Mr., and our friends WK and MS. We spent a good amount of time on emails trying to decide on where to go for Dine Out. After a series of discussion, we chose La Terrazza in Yaletown.

La Terrazza Dine Out Menu

While I was perusing the Dine Out menu, I was surprised to earn that one of the appetizers (Buffalo Mozzarella) cost an extra $4.88 and it cost $3.88 for bread refill. Interesting pricing I must say, but I also can’t remember the last time I went to a restaurant where there’s an extra charge for bread refill. I’ve been charged for bread from the start, but not refill I don’t think. Having said that, the bread basket actually had a good amount of bread to share among the four of us. No refill was needed, so it’s not so much of a rip-off as I originally thought.

Bread with Garlic-Infused Olive Oil

Food

Being at an Italian restaurant, you have to order some wine. In Mr.‘s word: “Being young and poor, an expensive bottle was out of the question. We asked our very nice and soft spoken waitress for a suggestion. Exaggerating a bit, she told us they have wines ranging from 50 to a million dollars, so it all depends on how much we want to spend. Our eyes widened, and we started to chuckle at each other at the thought of some thousand dollar bottle of wine. At the end of it all, we went for a bottle of Pinot Noir from New Zealand, a compromise between the steaks and fish we ordered.”

Here Mr. and I will each give you our thoughts about the food.

Joyce: Duck Confit Salad + Arctic Char + Creme Brulee

At first glance, the Duck Confit Salad looks ordinary. For the longest time I was looking for the duck meat. Turns out it’s hidden under the bed of greens. The salad was light and refreshing, and the amount of duck meat was just right. Because the flavouring was on the light side, I wouldn’t mind if the seasoning of the duck meat was a bit more intense. Love the creamy goat cheese. The Arctic Char has similar texture as salmon. Even though I don’t usually order salmon at restaurant, I quite enjoyed it. The best part of the dish was the crisp herb risotto cake. To date I haven’t found a risotto that I like and this was the first. What doesn’t taste good deep-fried? It’s done like a crab cake, crispy and light. It’s not heavy like most risotto dish. To finish, the Creme Brulee was creamy, although a bit too sweet for my liking.

I’m a big fan of Bolognese, probably my favourite pasta sauce. You can’t really go wrong with an abundance of meat in anything. As an appetizer, the portion of Rigatoni Bolognese served was perfect for a guy my size. The rigatoni pasta was just a tad dry, and so was the sauce. Despite that, I still liked it. Next up was the Grilled Beef Striploin. It was cooked to medium on one side and medium rare on another, I don’t mind either but that shows lack of cooking control. There was a nice piece of tendon running across the base of the meat that didn’t help the experience. In addition to the fact that striploin isn’t my favourite cut, this dish gets a thumb down from me. The best part of the meal was the dessert: the White Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake in Phyllo. I’ve never had one before. The warm and soft cheese cake is wrapped in thin and crisp phyllo, creating an unique texture in a sweet and salty package. And the sour cherries were… cherries on top.

White Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake in Phyllo

Final Thoughts

Located in Yaletown in a standalone building, everything about La Terrazza screams rich. Classically styled, the interior decoration and lighting give off a lush and luxurious feel. Our Dine Out experience was overall quite enjoyable. Service quality is often compromised during Dine Out but staff at La Terrzza didn’t disappoint us. Even enough it’s located in downtown, the restaurant offers free valet services. There’s also plenty of street parking available as well.